Has God chosen some of His own creatures as daughters for Himself and has given you the preference of having sons? 16 And if one of them hath tidings of that which he likeneth to the Beneficent One, his countenance becometh black and he is full of inward rage. 17 Does God choose for Himself the kind of children who grow up wearing ornaments and who are not strong enough to defend their rights? 18 And they have made the angels, who are themselves servants of the All-merciful, females. What, did they witness their creation? Their witness shall be written down, and they shall be questioned. 19 And they say: If the Beneficent One had (so) willed, we should not have worshipped them. They have no knowledge whatsoever of that. They do but guess. 20 Have We given them a Book before this, to which they are holding fast? 21 Nay, but they say: "Behold, We found our forefathers agreed on what to believe - and verily, it is in their footsteps that we find our guidance!" 22 And thus it is: whenever We sent, before thy time, a warner to any community, those of its people who had lost themselves entirely in the pursuit of pleasures would always say: "Behold, we found our forefathers agreed on what to believe - and verily, it is but in their footsteps that we follow!" 23 ۞ [Each warner] said, "Even if I brought you better guidance than that [religion] upon which you found your fathers?" They said, "Indeed we, in that with which you were sent, are disbelievers." 24 So We took vengeance upon them, and see how the end was of those who lied. 25